The fish report is weekly. Its accuracy depends on marina operators, tackle shops and local fishermen we contact. Anglers catching large fish should send the information to Outdoor News Service, P.O. Box 9007, San Bernardino, CA 92427, or telephone 909-887-3444, so it can be included in this report. Faxes can be sent to 909-887-8180. E-Mail messages or fishing reports can also be posted to Jim Matthews at odwriter@verizon.net.

This report is published by 11 daily newspapers in Southern California each week. Frequently it is edited for space. A complete version is available through our Outdoor News Service web site (www.OutdoorNewsService.com). The updated report is usually posted by Thursday afternoon. The fish report is copyrighted and any use or reposting of the report, or portions of the report, is prohibited without written permission. Posting of links to the Outdoor News Service web site is allowed.

The Outdoor News Service is also on Facebook with updated reports and photos posted throughout the week. The Twitter account name is MatthewsOutdoor. For our latest fishing information, use these sites.

The Cal TIP number, the Department of Fish and Game poacher hotline, is 1-888-DFW-CALTIP. The DFWâs Internet web page is located at the following address: www.DFW.ca.gov.

MATTHEWSâ PICKS OF THE WEEK

1. The crappie bite at Lake Isabella moves into the No. 1 slot after the second week in a row of âCrappie Mania.â The bite is excellent on fish to two pounds for anglers fishing from shore, float tube, or boat and the best bite is on live, small shiner, but the jig fishermen tossing small crappie jigs with meal worms or Crappie Nibbles are also getting a lot of fish. Boulder Gulch, Paradise Cove, Rocky Point and Piney Point are the hot spots. For an update on this bite, call Bobâs Bait in Bakersfield at 661-833-8657.

2. Crowley Lake in the Sierra Nevada was wide open for the trout opener and produced an excellent number of quality fish from four to seven pounds, including some very nice browns. A smart angler would head up this weekend, avoid the crowds, cash in other excellent weather, and get limits of fish. The perch are even biting already. For an update on this bite, check with the folks at Crowley Lake Fish Camp at 760-935-4301.

3. A second Sierra choice and the No. 3 pick for this week is Lower Twin Lake in the Eastern Sierra out of Bridgeport. The overall fishing is very good, but itâs the number of trophy brown trout being caught here that is garnering all the attention, including a 17-pounder caught on Wednesday evening this week. This is a trollerâs game, but you face the opportunity of a lifetime to get a trophy brown. For an update on the bite, call Twin Lakes Resort on Lower Twin at 760-932-7751.

FRESHWATER HOT SPOTS

TROUT: The Sierra trout season opened this past weekend and the bite was excellent just about everywhere with most lakes ice free and sporting low water which concentrated the fish. Crowley Lake, Lower Twin Lake, Bridgeport Reservoir, and Convict Lake were the hot spots, but the entire June Lake loop was good. The biggest trout of the season so far was a 17-pound brown from Lower Twin Lake out of Bridgeport on Wednesday this week. The Bishop Creek drainage was also all ice-free and excellent. Other good bets include the upper Kern River and Big Bear Lake. Hemet Lake is also now getting DFW plants every two weeks. Locally, the Santa Ana River Lakes, Corona Lake, and Irvine Lake are all still the top bets, with Jess Ranch also in the mix. Outside of those four waters, all of the San Diego area lakes trout bites are starting to wind down with final plants in most places this week or already over. San Bernardino County park lakes are done with plants now.

BLACK BASS: The spawn is pretty much over most places, but the largemouth and smallmouth bass all over the region are still providing generally good action with males still shallow and protecting fry. Plastics, jigs, and reaction baits are the rule of thumb now. Best bets in this good action are Lake Perris, El Capitan, Lower Otay, Sutherland, Skinner, Casitas, Castaic, Diamond Valley, and Piru with waters like Pyramid, Cachuma, Silverwood, and Hodges all fishing well. The Central Coast waters of Margarita, Lopez, and Nacimiento are all good and Margarita might be the best spot on the Central Coast if not the whole region. The Colorado Riverâs smallmouth and largemouth bites are good in Havasu and the main river below the dam. The lower river backwaters are also wide open. The bite is good in Mohave and reservoirs further upriver.

STRIPED BASS: The aqueduct at Taft has an incredible volume of fish, and more and more fish are over the 18-inch minimum size. This is hands-down the best striper bite in the region. The lakes getting regular trout plants have all have decent striper bites the week of DFW plants for quality fish. Top bets for a big striper on trout-like swimbaits have been Castaic, Pyramid, Willow Beach on the Colorado River, and Diamond Valley. Silverwood is good for fish under six pounds. Skinnerâs striper bite also looks to be coming back on, and there were a few more fish at Diamond Valley this week. But no place is better than just fair overall. On the Colorado River, the bites are mostly slow, but a few fish are starting to show at Havasu.

PANFISH: The crappie bites have been bouncing up and down. Top bets this week are the good bites at Isabella, Elsinore, and Henshaw. The Sutherland bite has been a little off this past week (but still producing some fish). Silverwood still has a pretty good bite on smaller fish. Cachuma is also just fair with light pressure. Also the first crappie of the season were reported at Perris last week, including some slabs, and a few of those fish continue to show. The redear/bluegill bites took off at Perris in the east end and off the island, and bite broke wide open at Lake Skinner this week. Most places with bluegill and redear are now starting to produce good numbers of fish.

CATFISH: Mostly slow catfish action again this week. The exception is on the Colorado River where both the channel catfish and flathead bites are starting to break wide open. A number of flatheads to 30 pounds were report all up and down the lower river again this past week. Other places to watch include Irvine Lake, Corona Lake, and Pyramid. The stocked catfish season is also beginning at Hesperia Lake with weekly plants.

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